


the shadow of the day

by xylomylo



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), F/F, the not pjo pjo au no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-14 12:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21015794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xylomylo/pseuds/xylomylo
Summary: “doesn’t she eat dinner?” momo whines. her eyes are the colour of a lovesick fool and mina prays to poseidon that she doesn’t look like that too. “why do i feel like i have to do everything she asks of me?”“that, my friend,” jeongyeon clears her throat, “is the greatest mystery of this camp. fuck the prophecy.”





	the shadow of the day

**Author's Note:**

> for TFG 2019!!! the quote used is mina saying 'that unnie is dangerous' with regards to nayeon. because no one is more whipped for minayeon than i am. (and also nayeon saying she thinks she likes mina..from that one dtna vlive behind the scenes)
> 
> also happy anniversary to twice!!!

nayeon doesn’t come to dinner.

momo pouts. plays with her vegetables because they’re boiled and soggy and gross, and mina tuts disapprovingly. it’s the third night in a row, and she really doesn’t blame momo. because she’s been there - they’ve all been there. at this point it’s almost as if it’s part of the initiation for new campers.

“that unnie is dangerous,” she whispers. looks to the hades cabin all the way at the left. the black drapes covering it says a lot about its only resident, but mina thinks it’s just something they’ve all been indoctrinated with. that children of the god of the underworld are doomed for death, destruction and nothing more, and that they should stay far, far away from the likes of any. “i’d tell you to stay away, but we both know that’s not going to help.”

momo flushes. her cheeks are the same colour as the kool-aid in her cup, and mina laughs. it’s been awhile since they’ve had a new camper, and it reminds her of her first week here - lost, insecure, and also in awe of all the other kids just like her. kids who never really fit in, until they found each other here.

and then there’s nayeon. the dark-haired, dark-eyed girl everyone told her to be wary of, because _ she summons the dead! _ and _ she looks like she could kill you in your sleep _and mina never really believed it. until one night, when she went to take a walk by the river, and found nayeon talking to a skeleton that disappeared into the ground with a snap of her fingers -

“still thinking about her?” jeongyeon settles down beside them. ruffles momo’s hair. the burn marks on her shirt have grown to be a part of her identity, mina thinks, seeing as how the short haired girl only leaves the forges for food. and with cabin leader jeongyeon taking momo under her wing, it’s to no one’s surprise that momo’s going to turn out exactly the same. 

“you know how it is,” mina chides. nudges momo softly. “it’ll pass eventually,” she laughs. ignores jeongyeon’s _ really? _muttered under her breath, and decides against weaponising the stew in her bowl (it’ll look so good on the other girl’s face). she’s not one to waste the kitchen’s efforts, although her hand itches with the thought.

they fall into conversation. jeongyeon talks about the next capture the flag. momo perks up immediately. starts throwing out ideas for weapons, possible strategies, and mina joins in easily. but the words get stuck in her throat when she feels familiar eyes on her -

“speaking of the devil,” jeongyeon mumbles, and mina doesn’t need to turn around to know who she’s talking about, because _ everyone _ stares. the thing about nayeon: she’s been here longer than anyone. even jeongyeon, who’s been here since forever, and well. it’s definitely enough time to build her reputation throughout camp. 

there’s a collective sigh when nayeon disappears into chiron’s cabin. it’s like she’d pressed pause on all of them, and then play. it’s not the first time mina questions the older girl’s parentage. because no child of hades is supposed to make you want to drop to your knees every time they look at you. or even so, every time they walk past you. so where is this coming from? 

“doesn’t she eat dinner?” momo whines. her eyes are the colour of a lovesick fool and mina prays to poseidon that she doesn’t look like that too. “why do i feel like i have to do everything she asks of me?” 

“that, my friend,” jeongyeon clears her throat, “is the greatest mystery of this camp. fuck the prophecy.” 

  


/

  


children of the big three are privileged. it’s a fact no one denies - they’re definitely stronger, of course, in terms of powers and endurance. but mina doesn’t really give a shit about all of that, because what’s more important is the fact that they’re so _ rare _. 

like, really really rare. like how she was the first daughter of poseidon to show up at the camp in five years. it doesn’t matter that zeus’s cabin is still empty, and hades’s cabin has been nayeon’s alone for years - the solitude is something she loves; she doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the loneliness, not when she’s found friends from other cabins.

there’s more privacy, because there are no prying eyes. no judgement, in whatever she does: like sneaking out in the middle of the night, her body on autopilot as it has long memorised the way to the warmest bed she’s known in camp. she quickens her pace, pulling her jacket a little tighter around her body slightly to fight the chilly night wind, and pushes the black drapes aside. slips in easily.

her heart pounds. there’s the urge to stop everything and just stare, because nayeon’s asleep, in all her glory. she always is, at this hour, because _ talking to my summons is tiring _ and _ do you see my perfect skin? it doesn’t come for free, you know _and mina tries her best to be quiet because a grouchy nayeon is terrible to deal with. leaves her jacket on one of the other unused beds, and crawls under the covers as incognito as possible - 

“what took you so long?” there’s already an arm curling around her waist and pulling her closer, and mina melts. leans into nayeon’s touch. lets the other girl’s breath scald her neck, and feels the tendrils of heat seep through her t-shirt, and wow. she’s alive. it’s one of those nights.

“i’m here, aren’t i?” mina chuckles lowly. breathes in the weird charcoal smell that’s always in nayeon’s hair one way or another. it’s grown to be something soothing. calming, and at the same time also the shot of adrenaline she looks for. there are lips now at the base of her neck, leaving feather-like trails all the way across her collarbones, and mina doesn’t bother hiding the shudder that ripples through her entire being. 

it’s always different. sometimes it’s fast and hard. sometimes it’s slow and soft. sometimes mina feels like nayeon has burned her way into the fissure in her universe, and she doesn’t complain. because as radical as it is, it fills up the missing parts - albeit not everything. it’s the best kind of band-aid to cover an open wound that might never heal: opaque, flashy, and a good distraction.

nayeon is beautiful in the darkness - even more so when she kisses her navel. mina gasps. digs her ankles into the edges of the bed, and wants nothing more than to surrender herself to the clutches of nayeon’s chaos. because nayeon always looks at her with flames in her eyes that melt her soul, and something else that mina doesn’t want to know.

(she knows.)

so she closes her eyes. because when she does, she believes it.

  


/

  


lunch is a quiet affair, only because everyone is pretty much beat from training, and mina doesn’t really know what she’s shoving down her throat. but it tastes good, and hey. that’s enough. 

her feet hurt. jeongyeon had used one of her claw machine swords that wouldn’t stop spitting fire, and of course it burned a hole in her sneakers. you’d think being a daughter of poseidon meant that the sea would be a part of you. literally. but learning is a never-ending process, and mina’s take-home message today was that… well. she’s not water.

momo mumbles something intelligible. mina’s too tired to care, but a small part of her consciousness tells her it’s probably her obsession over im nayeon like always. because nayeon’s always at lunch, and always seated at the same table all the way at the corner - she chances a look, just because she too is an addict, and there’s nayeon, in her black gear, with a couple of annoying ares kids trying to talk to her. 

she looks away. wills her heart to slow down, because she’s already thinking about tonight, and she’s so deep in this addiction she doesn’t care anymore - but there are lines she cannot cross. like chiron knowing. relationship news spreads like wildfire, and mina’s not going to risk losing her favourite thing in the midst of it all -

“um,” jeongyeon swallows. ”what’s that?”

mina’s yanked unceremoniously out of her thoughts by momo’s loud gasp, and she looks to where everyone is staring: the sky. there’s a patch of sky right above them that’s brighter than the rest. glowing, in fact, and okay. in all her time at camp half-blood, she’s seen the weirdest shit. a talking centaur. a goat. a minotaur. other kids like her who have powers, from literal gods - what’s a shining cloud got on any of that?

the answer: absolutely nothing. so she shrugs. and just one millisecond after her shoulders move, the sky splits, just to prove her wrong; there’s something that looks like a portal, ringed by a rainbow, and mina doesn’t have time to react before there’s a flash of light so bright it makes her look away. she shuts her eyes. waits for it to be over - 

“hello, children.” the voice is intimidating. cold, but also soothing. “where is chiron?” 

she opens an eye hesitantly, body on full alert. assesses the situation. then opens both eyes, and lets her jaw drop of its own accord, because it’s not every day the sky decides to spit out a really pretty girl in a white toga that hurts her brain if she stares too long. her hair is a silvery waterfall that seems like it would reflect the moonlight, and she’s wearing a crown of roses. they smell really good, like fresh dew, and there are arrows sticking out of each rose - small but definitely sharp, mina knows. the girl is gorgeous. it’s enough to distract everyone from the fact that she’s… barefoot. 

then there are footsteps, loud and hurried and the ones every camper’s learned to recognise. chiron appears, long hair flying in the wind, and mina finally snaps out of it. notices the way jeongyeon’s and momo’s eyes are still glazed over, staring unabashedly, and kicks both their shins.

“ouch!” jeongyeon grumbles. mina points to the front. pretends she doesn’t see momo wipe off the drool at the corner of her mouth, and gestures to the other tables - everyone is pretty much still staring, and wow, what kind of person would have this much power? it’s like some kind of a strange visual version of charmspeak. but the aura emitting from toga girl is magnetic, and makes mina feel like offering up her head with no questions -

she blinks. no wonder it’s familiar. it’s just like nayeon’s trademark ‘goddess drop’, as momo calls it - one look at her and you’re ready to give up all your money. if mina was thinking, she would probably wonder why she’d broken free of it faster than the others, but no - all she can think of is nayeon, now, and the fire that is always all-consuming, and how her skin had felt against the cool silk sheets. she gulps. turns around, because she’ll always be that stupid moth that can never stay away from the flame that will eventually be her demise. 

mina turns around, because she’s long given up the fight. feels her stomach dip when she thinks of familiar arms around her waist, and lips cooing poetry praises that renders her the very same shade of star-struck naivety she was when she first stepped in -

the table is empty, and nayeon’s nowhere to be found. mina keeps the disappointment to a minimum, in the way she lets her heart drop just a little. but it still hurts. 

(she misses the way toga girl looks in her direction a little longer than necessary, before disappearing into chiron’s cabin.)

/

  


her bed is unmade. nayeon swears it feels more comfortable when the sheets are messed up, and lowkey smells like last night. like -

she closes her eyes. breathes in slowly. wills herself to be invisible. calls upon the shadows, and feels the familiar curl of her gut as they pool at her feet, right at the edge of the bed. It’s a dark mass of energy swirling around, just waiting for her to be one with it, like she always does.

but she doesn’t, because she knows her ruse is over. it wasn’t something she could do forever, anyway. hiding in a demigod camp? at least it was fun. at least she’d felt like she belonged, with people that actually worshipped her. literally. she sighs. lets go of her mind grip, and the shadows disappear into the light entering just as the curtains at the entrance are pushed aside. 

“before you say anything,” she starts. opens her eyes, because there’s no more running away. “know that i was here on a… learning journey.” 

the other girl doesn’t flinch. doesn’t blink, either, and nayeon can’t believe she’d given tzuyu the benefit of the doubt - that after all these years, she’d actually developed some semblance of a sense of humour. 

“learning journey?” tzuyu raises an eyebrow. “so what did you learn?”

nayeon laughs. “about the demigods.” she sits up so she’s looking at tzuyu properly. the other girl’s hair is longer, now, but everything about her is pretty much the same, and nayeon still thinks tzuyu could do better with shoes. keeping up with the times, yo. “they train themselves well! they’re just like us, but way cuter. i can’t believe i’m saying this.”

tzuyu smiles. the tension in the air cracks, and nayeon’s shoulders slacken. “wow. what has life on earth done to you?” the other girl folds her arms. “made you humble?” 

nayeon does a double take. because tzuyu’s actually joking around, and not hauling her ass back to olympus like she’d expected, and wow. she’s not going to say she didn’t miss this. “i already was,” she rolls her eyes. “and i helped! chiron let me plan some of their curriculum.” puffs out her chest. “i was a whole ass teacher, okay.”

“teacher?” tzuyu scoffs. “what are you teaching them? to sleep with you?” 

there is an entire second where nayeon is rendered speechless. because _ of course _ tzuyu would know. she’s the goddess of virgins - also known as the dumbest title to ever exist. an extremely cringe-worthy one, too, and a poorly veiled excuse to keep track of all the virgins in the world. 

or: she’d just been keeping tabs on her, and that would only mean that nayeon isn’t really good at this hide-forever-and-not-seek thing. 

“well,” she shrugs. “can’t help it if i’m irresistible.” the air is heavier, only because her secret is out. but this is tzuyu - the only one who sees her for what she is, despite her father’s steadfast rule, and nayeon realises that she doesn’t care. because some things never change. like the way her heart settles just as tzuyu’s eyes soften, into the bed of comfort that always promises sweet respite. there is no judgement - only soft caresses, as the other girl moves to sit right beside her on her bed, and this is the exact moment nayeon realises the weight of the situation she’s in.

she tightens her arms around tzuyu. breathes in the roses, and the moonlight. thinks about the impending hurt -

“what’s her name?” tzuyu asks. it’s barely a whisper; quietly slicing through the raw sombreness, and it makes nayeon grin through the cracks in her chest.

“mina.”

  


/

  


the forges are always crowded, because children of hephaestus never know when to rest. they’re like-minded in the way they pursue their passion: with a one-track mind, and can never seem to stay still for long. so when momo leaves for the day, like any other day - it’s already dark out, and mostly quiet.

she tucks her hands into her blackened pockets. the walk back to the cabin is long, only because theirs is right at the end. but momo doesn’t find it a chore. the tranquility always lets her appreciate the fact that she’s finally found a real family, and is fulfilling her destiny, one way or another. putting her talents to use. she smiles, because she’s finally good at something, and doesn’t have to put up with the stupid bullies in school anymore. 

it’s chilly. the wind blows a little harder, just as she rounds the corner. she winces, because it’s like cutting into her eyes, and okay. the flames she summons to keep her warm get extinguished almost immediately - should she be alarmed? because it takes extra effort to keep her eyes open, and summer nights aren’t supposed to have such harsh winds. 

but then there’s a sound. something like a broken sob. momo freezes. it’s accompanied by hurried footsteps, and her knee-jerk reaction makes her duck behind the nearest tree in sight. because bumping into someone possibly crying is only going to be awkward, and she knows she’s not good with words. they always come out wrong. maybe it’s part of her nature, but she’s already made peace with it. there are some things that are just the way they are. or rather, how the gods want things to be. 

so she waits. not for long, because mina appears, with her head down. her hair covers most of her face, but it’s still obvious to momo that she’s crying. there are tear tracks on her cheeks, and her eyebrows are pinched together in a way that makes momo antsy, but the other girl is walking away at an alarming speed and… well. it’s clear she just wants to be alone. 

the wind stops. the moon shines a little brighter, and momo steps out of her hiding spot. looks at the direction where mina was running from, and tilts her head - it’s… the hades cabin? oh. did nayeon and her fight? the gears in her head start turning, but it’s like they’re moving in the wrong direction. she’s missing a piece. she doesn’t understand, because momo doesn’t think she’s ever seen them talking. ever.

she shrugs. maybe she’ll just ask mina about it tomorrow, when the sun’s up and blazes clarity into her eyes. her stomach rumbles, because it’s been hours since dinner. she feels the complementary exhaustion set in with every step she takes. there’s capture the flag tomorrow, which means they’d all need the extra rest, and momo knows it’s going to be an early night. pushes aside all thoughts of mina, and thinks about the new weapons she’d forged today. her babies. 

but then something else catches her eye, along the small pond right by the hades cabin. there’s a blackened hole on the wooden porch. there’s a girl standing right in front of it, with her feet barely touching the ground. and then there’s another girl, slightly shorter, with her hands on her hips. if momo squints she thinks she sees the blackened hole _ moving _, and okay. is the shorter girl im nayeon? 

the taller girl shakes her head. snaps her fingers, and the ground beneath her feet glows. the moonlight shines down on her like a spotlight, and it increases in intensity and momo has to look away. it’s just like that glow of light during lunch, where the weird lady literally dropped from the skies, and oh. that might be the same lady. the one jeongyeon said was… artemis. or something. 

then the darkness on the wood expands. like a circle swallowing up the earth. the light disappears, and in its final flash, momo turns back to see nayeon disappearing into the ground. it’s fast, and when she blinks again, there’s nothing there. it’s just the pond, still as ever, and the cabin. 

okay. she resumes her journey. starts walking back. shakes herself out of it. it’s late, her stomach is empty and she’s definitely hallucinating - because people don’t just disappear into the ground. even if they happen to be children of hades. or evaporate together with the moonlight, unless they’re the gods themselves. 

she needs to sleep. now.

  


/ 

  


olympus is over-glorified. tzuyu hates it more than anything. only because the major gods make it a point to parade around like they own the place (okay. maybe they do, but that’s not the point). it’s mostly zeus’s territory, because it’s right in the middle of the sky, and okay. big brother rights. but he’s always talking about whatever grand plans he has to expand pantheon, and his latest weird lightning gadgets - for an old god, he’s surely keeping up with technology.

she rolls her eyes. they’re supposed to discuss the prophecy, and the fate of the mortals. but she’s been through thirty solid minutes of zeus and hera arguing about whether the new room should be turned into a gallery for his new antique china, or her never-ending trinkets, and tzuyu thinks her ears may start to bleed. 

opposite her, apollo’s falling asleep - his mouth hangs open very ungracefully, and tzuyu snorts. because despite their differences, he’s probably the only one other than her who doesn’t take their hierarchy bullshit. sure, they may be powerful, but what good is power if it isn’t used for good? like preventing their parents’ prophesied resurrection. 

then there’s a bolt of lightning that hits the rim of her cup. it cracks, of course - but not enough for the tea to start leaking out. the table falls silent, and tzuyu folds her arms. 

“do you have something to say?” it’s directed right at her. the condescending, know-it-all tone she hates, but stomachs anyway because of the prophecy. power in numbers. unity.

“any news on the chosen one?” she asks, not yielding. there was a time that she would have curled into herself under their judgemental stare, but not anymore - because she’s sick of doing nothing. sick of living under the complacent rule that only makes them look over-confident and selfish. 

“nope,” zeus tuts. “why are you in a hurry, sister? the oracle’s prophecies are one in a hundred years, and it’s only been five so far. what makes you think we’ll get news this early?” hera’s annoying laughter punctuates the silence after, and once again tzuyu questions her decision of returning to olympus. 

she stands up. “just pick a demigod and get it over with. at least you’ll spare them the hurt of not being claimed, and give them the glory of being useful.” slings her bow over her shoulder, and leaves. slams the double doors. doesn’t look back. it’s an honest waste of time, talking to a man with an ego larger than the entire earth. tzuyu clenches her fist. knows that she should have listened to nayeon, to stay on earth with the mortals. and her hunters. but deep down she knows that it was something she owes nayeon - to give it a try. to see if the prophecy would change. the ritual is risky, but whichever happened first would count, and she’s not that oblivious to nayeon’s impending fall down the slippery slope she swore to never step foot on. 

the golden walkways are an eyesore. she closes her eyes. pictures the tranquility of the forest, and calls upon the moon. it’s always welcoming, unlike this cold and empty empire, and tzuyu snaps her fingers. it’s time to do something, instead of sitting in a fortified castle waiting for the worst to be unleashed, and if no one’s going to start a revolution - she will. 

she takes a step forward. feels the grass beneath her feet, and a familiar hand in hers. the anger is vanquished, as easily as that, because tzuyu already knows what she’s going to see when she opens her eyes: chaeyoung, smiling. it’s the starlight dancing in the other girl’s eyes that makes tzuyu feel featherlight. a weightless gravity that settles in her entire being, that grounds her to the one and only place where she truly belongs. that she’s not alone, despite what it might seem. that she’s never alone. 

she kisses the hand. laces their fingers together, and takes a deep breath. finds the reassurance she needs in the way chaeyoung squeezes her hand, and leads her towards their hut wordlessly.

  


/

  


jeongyeon isn’t really patient. she’s more of a brute force person, but that doesn’t fit in with the hephaestus blood in her - it’s probably from her mum. waiting out things isn’t really her style, and so when mina doesn’t show up at dinner for the third night in a row, she decides that she’s had enough. 

(maybe because momo won’t stop sulking because mina _ and _nayeon are nowhere to be found. and momo’s pouts are… well.)

she searches poseidon’s cabin first. it’s unusually messy, with clothes all over. if mina’s detachment over the last few days weren’t a warning sign, then this is enough to be one. because mina’s _ never _ messy. it’s enough for jeongyeon to start worrying a little, and she hurries to the next place she can think of - the creek.

it’s a little further down from the cabins, where it gets really quiet at night. peaceful, mostly, and of course. the water. mina’s said time and time again that it’s like an extension of herself. being able to be near a water body always gives her a sense of security that’s unrivalled, and jeongyeon hides a smile when she sees a familiar silhouette right at the bank of the creek. 

she sits down wordlessly, right beside mina. feels the other girl tense, for a second or two, before her body relaxes into its natural fluidness. mina is cryptic, but jeongyeon thinks the other girl still wears her heart on her sleeve. like when mina kept looking over her shoulder for nayeon in trainings, at the armoury, at dinner. and the one time she saw mina walking out of the hades cabin with a smile that might have been born from apollo himself - it's cute, despite the warnings they were all given by the older campers. 

until nayeon ups and disappears, and mina… well. 

“are you ever going to tell me about nayeon?” jeongyeon breaks the silence. “and how you’ve been sneaking into her cabin every night?” 

they’re still not looking at each other. mina kicks the ground in response. it’s only a matter of time before she cracks, but jeongyeon _ hates _waiting, and turns to look at mina. ups the pressure, because maybe it’ll help the other girl process the fact that there is no more running away, and that things aren’t going to magically resolve themselves if she mopes forever. 

ten. it takes ten seconds for mina to start talking. jeongyeon listens. keeps an eye out for the sudden ripples in the water, when mina’s voice sharpens. the anger makes its way into her fists, and jeongyeon sees the open wounds behind it that haven’t really healed. it’s still raw, ugly, and hurts like a bitch - it’s always difficult to remain neutral in situations like these.

“just like that,” mina laughs. it’s empty. “she won’t even tell me where she’s going. and with artemis, of all people. i mean, she’s prettier than me and is an actual goddess, so. who am i to compete?” her voice chips at the edges. “i thought we were… friends, at least.”

“you love her, don’t you?” jeongyeon leaves it hanging. lets the words ring between them, right in the open. because her gut tells her that mina needs to hear it to finally acknowledge the real reason she’s feeling like shit, before she starts processing things the way they actually are.

mina’s silence is her answer, and jeongyeon understands. chiron was right - prophecy kids never end up happy. 

  


/

  


the prophecy is stupid. mina hates the oracle. because what good is there to only be able to wake up every hundred years and say words that don’t even make much sense? it only ends up condemning the people in it to a tragic fate. as if they were born just for that. to achieve a predestined outcome. no one really remembers the actual version, because chiron’s sparknote version was way easier to understand - that a child of poseidon would be the key to balancing deep-seated evil, and that love would be the undoing. of what, no one knew. 

so when she’d walked through the doors of the camp, the older campers had held their breath. watched her with apprehension and expectations (fear) that pressured her to do well. but she did, regardless, and people eventually forgot - it’s easy to become complacent in their everyday life, where they’re the most comfortable. secure. happy. where they (she) would rather live in their (her) bubble of near-sightedness. 

but like all things real, it bursts. because im nayeon slices through the surface tension as easily as a knife in butter with her saturated saccharine smiles, and her air of mystery being the only constant that mina knows.

(she’s lying. because she doesn’t need to close her eyes to feel the mindless scribbles nayeon always traces into her skin at night, and remember the way her blood hums when nayeon kisses her with bitter lips and poetry, the way her ears won’t stop pounding the same beat as her heart, that deafens every single whisper of insecurity - )

“mina?” it’s a quiet rasp that comes from somewhere in her cabin. mina blinks. wonders briefly if this is how she’s going to be like from now on - brought to the lowest of lows: hallucination. because the desperation that comes with missing someone who doesn’t even care reeks of foolishness and it’s the only thing clogging up her senses. not that she could tell, after days of not leaving the cabin -

“mina,” it’s there again. the voice that hasn’t been able to leave her thoughts. echoes with every breath she takes. “i don’t have much time.”

she sits up, groggy and all - because that’s what happens if you lie down for the entire day without doing anything. squints in the darkness. there’s something moving right at the corner of her discarded shoes. the one nayeon always frowned at because of the burnt mark. because being ‘edgy’ is way beneath mina, she’d said, and the memory dispels the murky tint clouding her eyes. 

it moves, again. enlarges, and nayeon appears - right out from the ground, and mina’s lungs stop working. because it’s the only thing she’s been able to think about for the past few days, appearing right in front of her, in the flesh - but then nayeon steps out of the circle of shadows and pulls her into a hug, and mina _ breathes - _

“you came back,” she manages. it’s probably a little watery, but she doesn’t care. digs her fingers into nayeon’s shoulders, because she’s _ here _. here, tangible matter, right in her arms, and this is when everything is right again. where the sun sets in the west, and calls out the moon, only to be replaced by the darkness that balances them out.

“of course i did,” nayeon kisses her hair. her scythe lies on the floor, forgotten. “i have something to tell you.” the hands on her own face are velvet fire, and mina feels the coldness of the desperation leave. it melts. drives away the hopelessness and sinks her consciousness into the depths of its black heat.

she listens. nayeon spins a story that might be a hair length away from a fairy tale. it’s absurd, unrealistic, but when you hear it the second time? it makes perfect sense. ignites a melancholy that hits your achilles, and grows so slowly it until it’s a deep-seated ache you can’t get rid of. and when you realise it - you’re already in too deep. too deep in your guilt, because there are always reasons. other things. the big picture. 

mina sniffles. tries to understand. tries to process the fact that she’d not only fallen in love with a goddess, she’d actually _ slept _with one. multiple times. and then there was also something about nayeon hiding on earth only because she doesn’t really have a domain. her heart constricts, because it’s a familiar pain she’s sure the majority of the campers go through before they find their way here - being alone. not belonging. to the extent where she has to hide out on earth -

“stop that,” nayeon says. the finger that swipes under her eye is a soft contrast to the sharpness in the other girl’s tone, and mina realises she’s still crying. the tears have somehow started making their way down her face, and even through her flaky vision she sees nayeon’s eyes tremble. 

but nayeon smiles and it’s gone, and she continues her story - the daughter of hades and fucking aphrodite, and okay. this makes perfect sense. the snort that leaves mina’s lips in a fit of belated realisation makes nayeon chuckle. she’s rolling her eyes. of course. the visual charmspeak bullshit. 

then nayeon’s eyes harden into resolution, as the shadows move towards her once again. mina doesn’t ask. because in nayeon’s outstretched hand, as she stands up to leave, is her last goodbye, together with the flimsy remains of what’s left of her own heart. a final surrender, maybe. something to remember her by, if she may. 

nayeon speaks of making things right, and mina? 

mina waits. 

  


/

  


“are you insane?” tzuyu‘s eyes narrow so hard she has a unibrow of sorts, and if it weren’t for the arrow pointed at her throat, nayeon would have made fun of it. because tzuyu’s always pretty, even with her eyebrow caterpillar bullshit.

she clears her throat. “no, i am not.” looks at tzuyu right in the face. keeps the other girl’s eyes on her, as she thinks of the best way to do this, like how she does everything - lightheartedly, with intent. nayeon purses her lips. tries not to let her face implode, because she flicks her finger just so, and there’s a summon coming out of the ground, with its hand raised - right behind an unsuspecting tzuyu -

“ouch!” tzuyu yells. drops her bow, and nayeon takes the opportunity to escape. takes two giant steps away, as the other girl wrestles with her now-released summon, only to snort when she makes it disappear back into the ground. draws her scythe as a precaution, and puts her other hand out slowly. 

“why are you so violent? is this what they teach at jungle school?” tzuyu’s mouth sets into a hard line, and nayeon knows the jig is up. the joke is over. the punchline falls flat, like always. because tzuyu knows. tzuyu always knows. “this isn’t a joke, nayeon. it’s your immortality!” 

“and?” nayeon steps forward. sheathes her scythe. “what about it? i don’t want it if i can’t be with her,” she shakes her head. talking about it only serves to remind her of what she’s giving up, and of course tzuyu’s going to be mad about it. sad, too - because they’ve been through literally everything together, and nayeon doesn’t even want to think about leaving the other girl behind. “this is different, tzuyu. i know it. i think she’ll lift the curse.” 

mina. mina, who’s waiting for her, back in the home she’d found. mina, whose voice plants the seeds of self-worth in her chest. mina, who washes away all her self-doubt and calms her unplaced anger with waves that never stop their crescendo. they grow higher, and higher, and nayeon waits for the day they drown her completely. a day where she will know nothing else but mina, and her every ripple. 

they fall silent, until it’s tzuyu’s turn to step forward. the silver in her eyes brim with an unspoken acknowledgement, as nayeon finds herself being crushed in a hug that tickles the waterworks. just a little. but she’s not a sentimental sap, and tzuyu _ hates _crying, so they end up slapping each other’s backs really hard until one of them (obviously tzuyu) pulls away first, screaming murder. 

it’s just like old times. they fight like kids. make up, and laugh hysterically over nothing - this time, nayeon starts giggling first because tzuyu still looks ridiculously stupid while angry (and still pretty, maybe). then tzuyu chuckles, and it turns into a full out laughing fit. her stomach hurts, and maybe she’s crying - it’s a bittersweet memory she will cherish, when she starts to feel the rush of time, and the countdown to her final sunset (hopefully). 

on impulse, she grips tzuyu’s hand. feels the golden ichor burning in both their veins, for the last time, maybe, and closes her eyes. passes her gratitude - the steely reassurance from the other girl’s eyes settles the last of her anxiety, and she nods. 

“don’t worry,” nayeon smiles. it’s small. “you have chaeyoung.” 

  


/ 

  


the underworld stinks, even though death is but a journey - as father always says. or rather, packages his job a little too nicely, whenever asked about it. the heat always makes her skin crawl, despite having been almost made heir of the place, and nayeon holds her breath. grits her teeth. the gates to the palace are still the same old obsidian - they creak open just as slowly as she remembers, and the guards step aside. 

they bow, ever regal. because blood is thicker than water, and hierarchy is everything in a place of patriarchy. nayeon briefly considers calling for cerebus - at least he’s a joyful ball of sunshine who actually listens to her in this literal hellhole. she walks past the gardens. reaches for her scythe. remembers her purpose, and swears to be done with it as soon as possible - courage is fleeting, but this is certain, and maybe it’s just her flight risk self talking. 

“ah,” his voice booms over the hall as she enters. “my sweet child.” the throne looks different today. but then it might just be her father’s weird obsession with gold, because the rumours are true - hades is a whore for luxurious symbols of wealth. 

nayeon nods. doesn’t bow. because they both know he doesn’t care, and she’s not going to do it just because. “father,” she calls instead. hopes her voice doesn’t betray her trembling heart. “i have a favour to ask.”

hades laughs, loud and condescending, and it only makes nayeon tighten her grip on her scythe. forces her mouth to open, despite the weird looks his handmaids are giving her. she’s not even worth having a private audience, so this shouldn’t matter to him, right?

but his face turns a thunderous shade of discontent, and his silence is thick enough to let his breathing echo around the walls. raises his hand of authority, and everyone else scurries out quickly - nayeon braces herself. rebalances her weight such that it’s equally spread between her two feet, and presses them down against the ground. to stand firm. 

“so you’re telling me,” he says, slowly. “you’ve lifted the curse because there’s a demigod who finally loves you back, and you want to - ” 

“yes,” she interrupts. doesn’t really understand where the sudden rush of bravado is coming from. stares defiantly back at the god who was never her father. “will you agree to help me?” 

in many, many other occasions, she’d dreamt of spending her entire life here. by his side. ruling, as they’d talk about anything under the sun. a life, where she would do him proud. be worthy of his every word, and second spent. because what greater glory was there, than to be exactly like him? but with age comes wisdom, and also the startling fact that her father never acknowledges her - the perfect recipe for a neglected child: one who never stopped yearning for his approval.

but now, as he tilts his head, observing her intently - nayeon knows for sure: that girl is dead. she watches as his eyes sharpen, and his pupils turn white, as his bident flies right into his calling palm. the wind around them picks up.

“will you?” she raises her voice. everything’s suddenly louder, like the howling of the wind, and her heart races. because he points the bident right at her, and there’s a burst of dark matter exploding right at her face. at first it’s nothing, because she too can control the shadows. but it starts to burn right after they dissipate - it’s a simmering heat that follows the exponential potential of the paper fuel that is her skin, and hits her right in the chest. 

she drops to her knees. grasps the air, because _ holy shit _, and her throat is suddenly incapable of moving. breathing. her body is on fire, but there’s nothing on her, and she’s positive she’s just writhing on the ground like a madwoman. and the worst part? her father’s just standing there, like always. watching.

then it’s gone just as quickly, and she gets her bearings quickly. brushes off the dust on her clothes, and pushes herself off the ground -

hm. there's a rock on the ground that wasn't there before. she finds out the hard way, only after it's uneven surface leaves a cut on her palm that shouldn't be hurting this much -

nayeon stares. there’s nothing interesting about her hand, when the god of the underworld stands before you like he’s waiting for something to snap. but the one drop of crimson that oozes out of the cut, slowly, shocks her into disbelief because yes. if she were to close her eyes and feel, there would be nothing. no more identifying gods. 

she looks up at her father. he’s smiling, for the first time since she’d stood in front of him, waiting -

“you - ” he doesn’t let her finish. the wind picks up, again, and the shadows come back in full force. this time, she can no longer see through them - they’re now an opaque mass of darkness that surrounds hades. they swirl threateningly, only to the mortal eye, and nayeon can only watch him disappear, with her gratitude dead on her lips.

maybe that’s why mina always said they were bitter. 

  


/

  


nayeon comes to dinner. 

momo claps. eats her vegetables, because nayeon said so. because nayeon’s back for good, mina’s smiling, and jeongyeon doesn’t really roll her eyes that much anymore. camp is quiet, other than the ringing high she gets when nayeon rests her hand at the small of her back, or when nayeon smiles at her a little longer than necessary - mina revels in the jealous stares she gets from the other campers, because im nayeon is hers, and hers alone. 

“so i heard that you’ve said i’m dangerous?” the other girl flips her hair dramatically. mina pretends to vomit, but the smell of nayeon’s shampoo calms the wayward tides in her stomach. 

“yes,” jeongyeon cuts in, smirking. does a very cheap imitation of mina saying that, and mina looks to her cup. weighs the pros and cons of sloshing it right in jeongyeon’s face, with momo laughing hysterically (it’s not even funny). “so nayeon, what do you think?” 

there’s a brief pause, before familiar fingers find their way into her own hand, and mina can only think about the way nayeon’s eyelashes glitter under the afternoon sun as she smiles right at mina, and mina alone -

“i think i like mina.”

  


**Author's Note:**

> @xylomyloo on twitter and curiouscat yes i have resurrected !!!


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